Bank teller{3 s worktable

ABSTRACT

A teller&#39;&#39;s desk having a table with subsurface repository served by an opening in the table and a closure slidable in the plane of the table between respository covering and uncovering positions; said opening and repository being overhung by a relatively wide counter paralleling and spaced above the table; the disposition of the repository in the table and the spacing and width of the counter cooperating with each other to shield the repository opening and contents from the view and reach of persons at the front of the desk.

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,512,937 10/1924 Knaster...........

lnventor Francis E. Legge Don Mills, Ontario, Canada Appl. No. 852,764

3l2/l94X 312/194 ggf' ffi'gff gga 3,276,399 10/1966 Canfield.........-........:::

[7'3] Assignee The Bank of Nova Scotia Primary Examiner-Patri k D. Lawson Toronto, Ontario, Canada Attorney-Leon Arthurs ABSTRACT: A tellers desk having a table with subsurface repository served by an opening in the table and a closure PATENTED HAR3O |97| Inventor F. E. LEGGE by JM agrmt,

BANK TELLERS WORKTABLE The invention relates to a desk for the transaction of business between a functionary behind the desk and the public in front of it. Said desk is intended for clerical, rather than mechanical work, being deemed particularly practical for transactions with confidential implications as, for example, between a bank teller behind the desk and a customer in front of it.

Said desk will henceforth herein be referred to as a tellers desk although it is not inconceivable that its construction may well qualify it for service in other capacities.

It will be appreciated that negotiable instruments, e.g.: cash, checks, drafts, money orders and other like valuable papers appurtenant to the work of a bank teller (all hereinafter compendiously referred to as Vouchers") are normally stored at the tellers desk during work hours for use in the transaction of business as aforesaid and while it is necessary that such vouchers be readily and fully available to the teller at all times, it is most desirable thatthey be shielded effectively from the view and reach of the customer.

Conversely, a further desideratum is the full, unobstructed and unconfined faceto-face confrontation between the teller and the customer over the said desk.

In the past, at least some of the vouchers aforesaid were commonly kept in drawers which the teller opened and closed as required; this being an exercise which was performed continuously throughout the workday and which hence compelled constant corresponding back-and-forth stepping on the part of the teller, in turn, compelling the teller to work from a stand= ing position virtually throughout the entire workday. Moreover, it scarcely need be pointed out that, as and when a drawer aforesaid was opened, its contents were usually fully exposed to the view, if not the reach, of the customer.

As one of its main and important objects, the invention seeks to provide a desk as and for the purpose aforesaid which is equipped with a counter disposed at a height convenient to the transaction of business between a bank teller behind the desk and a customer in front of it, and is further provided with a table, for the private use of the teller, disposed below the counter and equipped with facilities for storing vouchers and like paraphernalia so that they are readily and conveniently accessible to the teller but normally inaccessible to the view and reach of the customer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a desk as aforesaid in which said storage facilities are constituted by means other than conventional drawers and a still further object is to provide a table for a bank teller havingappointrne'nts permitting the duties of the teller to be carried out conveniently from a seated position.

The invention achieves the foregoing and other more or less broad objects by the provision of a desk in the form of a free standing module having horizontal work surfaces arranged in spaced upper and lower relation; the'lower surface being provided by a table'having an intermediate opening serving a subsurface repo'sitory for vouchers and paraphernalia as aforesaid, and a closure slidably movable between an open position for exposing the said opening opening and the repository below it and a closed position in which it conceals them while, preferably, merging with and complementing the table and lying flush therewith. The upper work surface is constituted by the said counter which isof somewhat less width than the table; the space between them being screened at the front of the desk. The disposition of the repository opening in the surface of the table and the elevation and width of the counter cooperate with each other substantially to shield the aforesaid opening and associated repository from the view and reach of customers at the front of the desk without impeding access of the teller behind it to the repository contents.

cooperating means which are interengageable with each other when said lid and closure are in their respective closed positions to prevent reopening of one of them until the other has been opened.

A still further feature of the invention is a tray which is slidable in the repository between an advanced position in which its contents are accessible through said opening and a retracted position in which they are not so accessible.

A preferred embodiment of the present inventive concept is illustrated by way of example only in the hereunto annexed drawing wherein like reference devices refer to like parts of the invention throughout the several views'and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective principally showing the top and front of a desk according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged rear perspective view of the top of the desk with portions broken away to reveal structural details;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are top plan views of the desks; and

FIG. 5 is a reduced end elevational view of the structure of FIG. 2 with the representation of the eye of an average individual in front of the desk.

The desk of the invention, identified at D in FIG. I of the drawing consists basically of conventional structure providing a base B for a table 10 disposed, of course, in a horizontal plane at an elevation suitable for the private use of a clerk or teller standing behind the desk.

Situated above the table 10 and in spaced parallel relation thereto is a counter 12 which extends across the front of the desk D providing a surface suitably elevated for the convenient transaction of business between a customer standing in front of the desk and a clerk standing behind it. In addition to being convenient for the transaction of business, the height of the counter is also scaled to enable the parties on the opposite sides of the desk D to enjoy full, unobstructed and unconfined face-to-face confrontation with each other.

Front panel I4 depending from the front edge 16 of counter 12 screens the space between it and table 10. A portion of said table 10, hereinafter identified as closure 20, is slidable forwardlyi.e.: towards the front of the desk D--to expose an opening 22 in the table 10; said opening 22 providing entrance and access to a subsurface repository 24 for the aforesaid vouchers and other valuable paraphernalia associated with and appurtenant to the functions of a bank teller; said repository 24 being located below the intermediate regions of the table 10 and being, in this embodiment, divided into compartments in the usual manner for obvious purposes.

As an added convenience, however, an open tray 26 may also be installed for sliding back and forth in said repository 24 between an advanced position in which it is accessible through the repository opening 22 and a retracted position in which it is not so accessible and does not obstruct access to the other repository contents below it.

In the preferred form herein described and illustrated, the invention further contemplates a secondary subsurface receptacle 30 formed in the table 10 and provided with a lid 32 which, like closure 20, is a subordinate part of table 10 and fits into a congruent space 34 therein near which it may be hinged as at 35 in this embodiment for up and down movement respectively opening and closing said receptacle 30; the lid 32 being flush with table 10 in its said closed position.

As heretofore explained in same detail, the closure 20 is slidable between an open position in which it exposes reposi tory 24 and a closed position in which it conceals it and in which it also complements table 10. Said sliding movement of closure 20 is effected on conventional runners such as shown at 36 in FIG. 2 and formed in opposite edged of opening 22 which it serves whereby it need not and cannot be displaced from the plane of table 10; the sliding of closure 20 being reciprocal along a constant axis.

As will be apparent from the drawing, the disposition of the parts is such that closure 20 is moved away from lid 32 to open position and is moved towards it to close.

In this selected embodiment of the invention, the closure 20 is fitted with a dowelor like projection, which is receivable and engageable as a plug 37 within a socket 38 formed in lid 32 when the latter is in its closed position. Reopening of said lid 32 is thus prevented until closure 20 is moved towards its open position thereby disengaging plug 37 from socket 38.

A lock 40 may also be provided for locking closure 20 in a conventional manner in its closed or repository concealing position. Thus, all valuable vouchers and paraphernalia stored in repository 24 and in receptacle 30 may be quickly secured by the mere closing of closure 20 and lid 32 and the locking of closure 20 with said lid 32 as aforesaid.

It is noteworthy'that the main components of the desk D and, in particular, the counter 12, the table 10 and repository 24, at least, are proportioned and distributed so that, under ordinary circumstances, the counter 12 substantially shields repository 24 and its contents as well as the table 10 which it overhangs generally from the view of the public in front of the desk D; the table 10 with its repository 24 and other appointments being, on the other hand, completely accessible both to the view and reach of a clerk behind the desk. The inaccessibility of the repository 24 to the view of the public is graphically illustrated in FIG. wherein the reference device E denotes the eye of an average individual in front of desk D.

The present desk D thus provides working facilities for a clerk standing behind it while, at the same time, permitting the clerk to serve a customer in front of the desk, to whose gaze and reach the central areas of table are virtually inaccessible under normal circumstances.

Likewise, the repository 24 and receptacle 22 provide storage for the materials, i.e.: cash, checks, money orders, drafts, rubber stamps and like vouchers and paraphernalia most commonly used by a bank teller thus obviating the need for drawers for these materials which in turn makes it possible for the teller to work at the desk D from a seated position.

lclaim:

l. A tellers desk, including:

a counter extending across a front portion of said desk providing a surface suitably elevated for the convenient transaction of business between a customer standing in front of the desk and a clerk standing behind it;

a table below said counter providing a work surface at an elevation suitable for the private use of the clerk behind the desk;

a panel screening the space between said counter and table at the front of the desk;

at least one repository disposed below an opening provided in said table affording entry to said repository;

the proportioning of said counter, its height above said table and the site of said opening cooperating to render said repository normally inaccessible to the view and reach of a customer standing in front of said desk while leaving it fully and conveniently accessible in all essential respects to the clerk behind the desk; and

a closure for said repository constituting a part of said table movable between an open position in which it exposes the repository aforesaid and a closed position in which it is flush with and complements the said table while concealing said repository. I

2. A teller's desk as set forth in claim 1 including:

a subsurface receptacle formed in said table;

a lid movable between two positions for respectively opening and closing said receptacle;

cooperating means carried by said lid and closure and interengageable when they are in their respective closed positions for restraining reopening of one of them until the other has been reopened; and

said closure moving towards and away from said receptacle between its two positions aforesaid.

3. A teller's desk as set forth in claim 1 including a tray in said repository movable between an advanced position in which it is accessible through said opening and a retracted position in which it is not so accessible.

4. A tellers desk as set forth in claim 1 wherein said closure is reciprocably slidable in the plane of the table between its two positions aforesaid.

5. A teller's desk as set forth in claim 2 wherein said cooperating means comprise a socket on the lid and a plug on the closure disposed to enter the socket when the lid is in its closed position and the closure is being moved to conceal said repository; said closure having a lock for locking it in its said repository concealing position. 

1. A teller''s desk, including: a counter extending across a front portion of said desk providing a surface suitably elevated for the convenient transaction of business between a customer standing in front of the desk and a clerk standing behind it; a table below said counter providing a work surface at an elevation suitable for the private use of the clerk behind the desk; a panel screening the space between said counter and table at the front of the desk; at least one rEpository disposed below an opening provided in said table affording entry to said repository; the proportioning of said counter, its height above said table and the site of said opening cooperating to render said repository normally inaccessible to the view and reach of a customer standing in front of said desk while leaving it fully and conveniently accessible in all essential respects to the clerk behind the desk; and a closure for said repository constituting a part of said table movable between an open position in which it exposes the repository aforesaid and a closed position in which it is flush with and complements the said table while concealing said repository.
 2. A teller''s desk as set forth in claim 1 including: a subsurface receptacle formed in said table; a lid movable between two positions for respectively opening and closing said receptacle; cooperating means carried by said lid and closure and interengageable when they are in their respective closed positions for restraining reopening of one of them until the other has been reopened; and said closure moving towards and away from said receptacle between its two positions aforesaid.
 3. A teller''s desk as set forth in claim 1 including a tray in said repository movable between an advanced position in which it is accessible through said opening and a retracted position in which it is not so accessible.
 4. A teller''s desk as set forth in claim 1 wherein said closure is reciprocably slidable in the plane of the table between its two positions aforesaid.
 5. A teller''s desk as set forth in claim 2 wherein said cooperating means comprise a socket on the lid and a plug on the closure disposed to enter the socket when the lid is in its closed position and the closure is being moved to conceal said repository; said closure having a lock for locking it in its said repository concealing position. 